


Like a Dog (Lay Down to Rest)

by Corilyn_Winchester



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Challenge Response, Cuddling & Snuggling, Deaf Clint Barton, Exhaustion, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-20
Updated: 2015-11-20
Packaged: 2018-05-02 13:02:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5249204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Corilyn_Winchester/pseuds/Corilyn_Winchester
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Being a SHIELD agent is hard work.<br/>Being an Avenger is hard work.<br/>      Sometimes they happen to fall on the same day. In which Clint gets very tired, and quite clingy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Like a Dog (Lay Down to Rest)

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by [Moonrose91](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moonrose91/pseuds/Moonrose91) in the [BeNiceToBarton](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/BeNiceToBarton) collection. 



> In response too:
> 
> **Prompt:**
> 
> I want cuddles. Lots and lots of cuddles. Like happy, early morning, too sleepy to do anything but snuggle, even platonic, cuddles.
> 
> I have a trust kink and love to read fics with Clint trusting any partner fully and completely enough to have sleepy cuddles with.

 It's not a secret that Clint Barton can wake at the drop of a pin.

Well, okay maybe it is. It would have to be a lot louder to wake him up. Point is, Hawkeye doesn't sleep in public, never has, and no one expects him too.

So, it comes as a surprise when Tony walks in on one archer curled on the couch with the infamous Black Widow.

+&+&+

Doombots, always. The stupid buggers never seemed to go away, and they also seemed to multiply exponentially. By the time the last bot is down for the count all of earth's mightiest hero's are in need of some good food and a few hours of sleep. Hawkeye however, was at that point before the call even came in. They trudge back to the tower, Clint oblivious of the look Cap is sending his way, far too focused with putting one exhausted foot in front of the other. Once there, Natasha deposits her half limp partner on the couch before making for the kitchen.

He's nearly asleep sitting up when she comes back, a plate of sandwiches held in her hand. Boots half untied, Kevlar vest on the floor, quiver and bow leaned against the side of the couch. She sits next to him and almost immediately his head is pressed into her shoulder.

"Hawkeye, eat something first." She shifts her weight, but he just follows. "Clint you heavy limp noodle, move."

" But 'm tired." He mumbles into her shoulder, and she can see it in his arms, in the curve of his spine.

"At least take your boots off." He makes a non-committal noise and shifts off her slightly, just enough to finish toeing off his combat boots.

"Tada." It's slurred, and he pulls his now socked feet up onto the couch, making a noise and leaning into his partner once again.

"Hearing aids." She taps his cheek gently with the reminder. He makes another exhausted sound and pulls the small devices out of his ears, fingering the ear molds for a second before lightly depositing them on the table.

Within thirty seconds he's got his head in Natasha's lap, an arm dropped across her hips and the other tucked under her knees. Two less flexible people would find it uncomfortable, but she likes having her knees resting under his shoulder as he curls into the space her bent legs make. It reminds her of how a dog would roll up in the same area.

It's how Tony finds them an hour later.

Natasha running soft fingers through Clint's blonde hair as she watches TV absently.

"He actually asleep? Or pretending to be?" Tony sticks his head over the back of the couch.

"He's out." She doesn't pause her fingers.

"You two cuddle?" He sounds shocked.

"He trusts me. You don't need to whisper, he took his hearing aids out." There's a little grunt and the archer somehow seems to get closer to the red head.

"Clint sure conked out, no one else is this tired. He sick?" Stark may act like he doesn't care, but deep down, he is deeply compassionate about his teammates, his friends. Family.

"Just exhausted. He got back at like 2am from a solo mission that was well over two days long. Then debrief, medical...luckily he wasn't hurt, the 6:30am remedial gun proficiency class he runs. Then the call came in, and we fought bots for another 5 hours. He was running on Redbull and will power for most of that fight." There's a bruise on his arm that's mostly gone, a Level one agent hadn't expected the kick back and she'd elbowed him fairly hard the day before he left for his solo.

"SHIELD always run you super spy's this ragged?" It couldn't possibly be safe to have a sleep deprived sniper.

"No. But he does tend to get to the 'so tired I can't move, let's snuggle' stage more often than me. But then again, his job is to stay alert the whole time. Mine is generally to appear weak." She traces the bruise with a light finger and the fingers on his right hand curl around her knee slightly. "I'll get him to move once he gets past the soggy shirt stage."

"Still can't believe you two cuddle." Stark shakes his head, snags a sandwich and leaves the room.

"Sleep it off. мой волокнистых нитей марионетка." _Moy voloknistykh nitey marionetka_. She rests a hand on his back, feels the sigh that leaves her Hawk as he relaxes even more.

+&+&+

End notes: moy voloknistykh nitey marionetka= my stringless puppet (used as a term of endearment)

Okay, so I'm not a snuggle person... at all. So hopefully this makes sense. Please let me know if anything needs to be fixed.


End file.
